The April Edition
On the menu: carrot milk cake; chicken Milanese with a wild garlic pasta; herby flaky flatbreads; a radish, olive, hazelnut & herb chunky salsa/salad with ricotta & more!
Welcome to the April edition of Seasonal, our yearlong celebration of the seasons. It’s officially spring and this month's bumper newsletter brings you: in season produce recommendations; creative flavor pairings; a full menu of brand new recipes (wild garlic pasta, carrot milk cake, flaky herby flatbreads); wonderful places to eat, stay and enjoy; plus a very spring-y collaboration with Ffern (salted honey butter lemon cake, with hot cross bun curd & a blueberry lavender compote).
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I have to tell you, this week’s newsletter feels especially energetic - perhaps because here in the UK, the days are starting to stretch luxuriously at both ends with birdsong filling the air at around 6:30am, and dusk lingering well past 7pm. And with the return of light comes that inevitable internal thaw together with a quiet, but persistent desire to make something, to feed someone, to fling open the doors and ransack the kitchen - all of which, naturally, I have indulged.
My refrigerator now resembles a less chic version of one of those designer living walls, you know the kind, all clean lines and cleverly concealed irrigation, whereas mine is more akin to horticultural mutiny. Herbs spill from every shelf with parsley entwined with mint in what appears to be a bid for freedom. Meanwhile, the counters tell the tale of an obsessive carrot cake testing spree. I've learned that carrot juice stains granite. Brightly. Possibly forever. Wonderful!
Between the endless dishes and splashes of vegetable dye, it’s clear I’ve been cooking with abandon. The chaos, however, feels justified. Outside, the light is changing, and with it comes a pull toward the ingredients themselves - fresh, alive, full of possibility. Lately, that’s meant more time wandering through local farmers’ markets. Yesterday, I made my way to Heckfield’s produce sale, a spirited gathering on a working farm (Chef Skye Gyngell is their culinary creative director). The air was heavy with the scent of herbs whilst flowers nodded in the breeze. Everything felt wonderfully vibrant and new again.
This week’s recipes are a celebration of spring in all its vivid, green-edged glory. There’s a crisp chicken Milanese - golden and audibly crunchy - paired with a wild garlic pesto pasta featuring the very first asparagus spears.
And for breakfast or a light lunch? Well, we have quick herb-stuffed flatbreads - impossibly flaky (thanks to a simple lamination trick), endlessly adaptable, and fragrant with whatever the market (or garden) yields this week.
And then, a rough-edged, chunky hybrid of a salad and salsa packed with crushed green and black olives, bright French radishes, a confetti of herbs, and a kiss of garlic. It’s grassy, sharp, full of snap and verve - pile it high over ricotta, scoop it with toast, or eat it straight from the bowl. Also wonderful to pair with the flaky flatbreads.
And finally, a deeply comforting carrot milk cake. This dessert is a bit of a shape-shifter with endless adaptable possibilities. Lovely on its own, it is even better when soaked in malted milk and crowded with cinnamon cream cheese frosting, candied kumquats and walnut praline - we’ll get into that later.
You’ll notice an absence of fruit. Spring, for all its promise, brings a particular agony for cooks - the awkward lull when winter’s last treasures (citrus, rhubarb) have slipped away, yet summer’s glut remains just out of reach. Here in Britain, it’s known as the "hunger gap" - the lean stretch from March to May when the fields offer little, and those who eat with the seasons must practice patience.
But not entirely.
Yesterday, I ate my first strawberry since last September. I couldn’t resist. For a moment, it was summer. The first gariguettes have arrived from the Lot-et-Garonne, delicately packed and still carrying the warmth of the southern French sun. Their flavor is honeyed yet sharp, sweet with the faintest flicker of acidity. I’ll hold off just a little longer before working with them, but that first bite was glorious.
Potatoes & Fleur de Sel
Jersey Royals, their skins whisper-thin; French Noirmoutiers, kissed by sea air; Linzer Delikatess, golden-fleshed and yielding; simply steam them, butter them, then, as Laurie Colwin advised, use your fingers and eat hot from the pot, with a little salt. Not just any salt, but rather fleur de sel. Harvested from the salt marshes of Guérande, this variety is delicate, mineral-rich, and slightly damp, dissolving slowly on the warm surface of a potato, amplifying its sweet earthiness like a perfectly placed note in a symphony.
Radish & hazelnut
A surprising, almost flirtatious pairing. The radish, all crisp bite and peppery cool, plays against the toasty richness of hazelnut. Try shaved radishes with crushed, lightly toasted hazelnuts, a drizzle of hazelnut oil, and a scattering of chervil or tarragon—delicate, but quietly insistent. Or see below for my salad/salsa recipe.
Courgettes & Parmesan
Courgettes, with their mild vegetal sweetness and faintly nutty undertone, are a natural pairing for Parmesan’s deep umami and crystalline saltiness. Shave into ribbons, toss with lemon zest and Parmesan, and eat in a sunlit kitchen, imagining yourself in a Matisse painting.
Green Almonds & Ricotta
Still soft and young, green almonds have a lactic, milky quality, their gentle bitterness a quiet reminder of the nut they will become. Ricotta - mild, sweet, and airy - meets them on equal ground, smoothing their edges without over-powering. Pile ricotta onto toasted sourdough, scatter with sliced green almonds, drizzle with honey, and finish with a pinch of flaky salt for a breakfast that awakens you with the taste of spring.
Petit Pois & Vanilla
Now, bear with me - this one’s a bit of a left turn, but I can assure you that the delicate sweetness of petit pois, especially when freshly podded, has an almost floral quality that plays surprisingly well with the creamy richness of vanilla. A bowl of vanilla gelato and raw sweet peas with a glug of good olive oil and sea salt really works.
Artichokes & Tarragon
Artichokes and tarragon share a peculiar magic: both are slightly medicinal and faintly aniseedy, but when combined, whether in a dipping vinaigrette or a buttery sauce, they are like long-time companions who provoke and refine one another, drawing out nuances that remain hidden in the presence of others.
Purple Sprouting Broccoli & Anchovies
At its English best - particularly from Norfolk, a county of wide skies and good soil - purple sprouting broccoli is nearly over. Why anchovies? Because brassicas need something to play against, something deep, salty, and rich. Blanch purple sprouting broccoli until just tender, then toss in a pan with olive oil, garlic, and a few anchovies until the fish melts into a silky sauce - finish with lemon zest and a crack of black pepper.
Sorrel & Crème Fraîche
As sharp as a Dorothy Parker retort, as bright as spring sunshine, sorrel’s acidity is citric, almost effervescent, a jolt of green electricity. Crème fraîche softens sorrel without dulling its spark, giving you something between a sauce and a spell - whether spooned over fish or folded into an omelette, it makes everything taste more alive.
Radishes
The crunch, the bite, the peppery snap - glorious! Pair with creamy cubed feta, toasted hazelnuts, and torn mint, bound together with a squeeze of lemon and a whisper of za’atar. To make za’atar, toast sesame seeds until golden, then grind with sumac, thyme, and a pinch of salt.
Rocket
These leaves are peppery and versatile so why not blitz into a pesto with almonds or pine nuts together with Parmesan, then toss into a salad, or wilt down like spinach and fold into a warm, garlicky French omelette - the kind that’s barely set and trembling at the edges.
Edible Flowers
My husband and I are about to head back to California where I have a modest but very colorful edible flower garden. According to my neighbor, it’s positively bursting with violets, borage and nasturtiums. When we get back I will scatter these treasures over salads for bursts of color, use them to decorate layer cakes (See below) and crystallize them in sugar for later use to add delicate, old-world charm.
Lettuce
Sweet, crisp, and delicate, spring lettuce needs no more than a vinaigrette and a scattering of chives. Feeling decadent? Simply add a tumble of homemade garlic croutons made from torn sourdough, tossed in olive oil and garlic then baked until golden - crunchy and salty. Perfect.
Petit Pois
Currently at their green, glossy peak, they love the company of mint, pecorino, and a drizzle of good quality olive oil. Mash them together and heap onto toast, or scatter raw over ricotta.
Nettles
Sharp Italian nettles are at their stingy best. Wilt into risotto, stir into soup, or steep into a tea that will taste of wild hedgerows and the promise of longer days. If you’re feeling bold, make nettle tempura - blanched, then quick-fried and salt-dusted, this snack will provide a delicate bite.
Asparagus
April 23rd marks the start of the British season, but elsewhere the green spears are already going strong - here’s looking at you California. In Europe, some varieties are steadily tiptoeing onto restaurant menus. I prefer asparagus seared in butter and finished with lemon and Parmesan until irresistibly nutty, perhaps with a side of homemade herby aioli. Or, for a sharper turn - blanch, then dress with miso, sesame oil, and a flicker of yuzu juice for something that references both Japan and springtime in Provence. See below for my wild garlic and asparagus pasta recipe.
Wild Garlic
A fleeting green firework of a plant with all the promise of garlic but without its bite. The moment before it flowers is when it sings. Blitz into butter, or pesto, fold into gnocchi, or stir into yogurt for the kind of dip that demands hunks of warm bread. Or perhaps try it the Italian way: chopped into ricotta or spooned onto charred bread and finished with lemon and chili - a bruschetta with the scent of the forest floor.
Also in Season
Cauliflower, morels, pea shoots, spring onions, spring greens, and watercress. So many possibilities…
This special section of the newsletter is brought to you in partnership with Ffern, whose reverence for the seasons and commitment to natural ingredients make them a perfect collaborator. Ffern is a small-batch, organic fragrance maker blending natural ingredients by hand in the English countryside. Each of their limited-release perfumes reflects the shifting rhythms of the year, and Spring 25 is no exception.
I was thrilled when Ffern invited me to create a cake inspired by the fragrance. I went with the concept of a spring garden cake, which feels like a true expression of the season. The lemon sponge is layered with hot cross bun lemon curd (insane!), salted honey buttercream, and a lavender and blueberry compote.
As for the fragrance? I wear it everyday, which is hardly surprising, because when creating the fragrance, the perfumers at Ffern were inspired by a sunlit woodland glade, which captures the tender green of early growth and the scent of sweet violets carried on the breeze. Notes of violet leaf, lemon, lavender, ylang ylang, and jonquil daffodil unfold in layers — floral, bright, quietly wild — echoing the flavors and aromas of myApril cake.
You can join Ffern’s seasonal waiting list at ffern.co, and follow them on Instagram at @ffern.co.
Recipe below!
Now that you’ve seen the menu, let’s delve into the recipe notes.
Carrot Milk Cake
I’ve spent an absurd amount of time testing tres leches sponge recipes, in an attempt to identify the perfect version. Turns out, the best method involves whipping egg yolks with sugar in one bowl, before carefully folding-in whipped egg whites from another bowl. That’s two bowls, and if you haven’t got more than one mixer, there is also the need to wash the whisks in between. I suppose that’s nothing to moan about, but after multiple recipe trials I must have reached the point of no return, because I just wanted to be in the garden, which led me to create the simplest method possible.
This is not a traditional tres leches. Not at all. The springy sponge takes mere minutes (and just one bowl) to prepare. On its own, sans frosting or milk soak, it’s light, moist, and delicious - quite perfect with a cup of tea. But here’s where it gets interesting: if you’re craving the full tres leches experience, when cool, you can soak the sponge in a mixture of evaporated and condensed milk, heavy cream, together with a few tablespoons of malted milk powder. Then, add the spiced cream cheese frosting atop (which is, honestly, pretty fantastic on its own). However, because the sponge is so light, you only need to soak it for about an hour or so. The result is basically an exceptionally delicious pudding-like milky cake. Quite addictive.
However, if you’re a little texture averse and don’t like your sponge ultra moist you can serve the milk soak as a custard-like sauce, drizzled around the sponge table side (see photo above). Or, simply enjoy the cake piped with cream cheese frosting, without the milk soak. However you choose to make this recipe your own, this carrot cake is very easy to prepare, and bloomin’ delicious.
Chicken Milanese with Wild Garlic Pesto Pasta and Asparagus
Today’s recipes are all about flexibility. The chicken Milanese is coated in panko breadcrumbs, seasoned with a mix of herbs and spices, and then simply baked until golden and crispy. No fuss, no standing over the stove. It can be kept in the fridge for 3 days - simple, delicious, and incredibly adaptable, just the way I like it.
The pesto can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for 3-4 days. And if you can’t find wild garlic, just double the basil and feel free to throw in a few other herbs if the mood strikes. As for the pasta - I used fresh then added chopped asparagus for the last 4-5 minutes. It all comes together in a flash.
Flaky Herby Flatbreads
Nearly every culture has its own beloved version of flatbread - from Armenian zhingyalov hats and Indian roti to Chinese scallion pancakes, Mexican tortillas, and Italian piadina - each one a delicious canvas for local flavors. Our flaky, herb-infused flatbreads are a perfect balance of buttery crispness and aromatic freshness. The flakiness comes from a surprisingly simple lamination technique. Don’t be intimidated - all will be explained. Head to the market and grab all the fresh herbs you can find, then stuff them generously into the dough.
Serve the flatbreads with cream cheese or labneh, a good drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of spice - za'atar or dukkah work beautifully. It’s a lovely, effortless combination that somehow tastes like more than the sum of its parts. Simple, but really quite special.
Radish, olive, hazelnut & herb chunky salsa/salad with ricotta
This salsa/salad hybrid is the epitome of scoopable goodness, ideal alongside the aforementioned flatbreads or heaped atop creamy ricotta. It’s a celebration of the season’s finest - blanched green beans, crisp French radishes, crushed olives, garlic, and a generous pour of high-quality olive oil. The beauty of this dish lies in its flexibility; use whatever seasonings you have on hand, as it’s nearly impossible to go wrong.
Rest in the fridge overnight to allow the flavors to meld and mature. Then, spoon onto toast, serve in a bowl, or simply enjoy straight from the spoon.
For this spring recipe, I took inspiration from food writer and recipe developer Kitty Coles, whose bright, delicious dishes are perfect inspiration for the season.
Eat
In London? Go to Fortitude Bakehouse. Go early, queue patiently, order everything. Then, take your pastries to Russell Square and let the sunshine do the rest.
In New York? I’m envious. La Cantine in Bushwick is a café by day, natural wine bar by night. The raspberry and passionfruit tiramisu on their Instagram nearly had me booking a flight.
Stay
Celebrating something special? The Newt in Somerset is spring incarnate — exquisite gardens, beautiful rooms, and food that leans into the seasons with grace (and serious skill). Also, a lovely day out!
If you're in California, make a note for May: Auberge du Soleil in Napa is hosting its month-long “Rosé All May” celebration, featuring exclusive private-label pink wine and stunning vineyard views.
Enjoy
In England? London is bursting with beautiful cherry blossom. Kew Gardens offers a variety of cherry blossoms around the Palm House and Cherry Walk, while Kyoto Garden in Holland Park features sakura trees over a koi pond. Greenwich Park boasts a Japanese-style cherry blossom tunnel, and the cherry trees at St Paul's Cathedral are a lovely backdrop for photos. Regent's Park is lined with glorious blossoms along Chester Road and in Avenue Gardens (photo below from a recent trip), and there are stunning trees in Kensington Gardens, near the Albert Memorial. TIP: If you can, go in the week to avoid crowds.
Whilst you’re at it - don’t miss the Heckfield Produce Sale every Saturday in April, where biodynamic fruit, vegetables, flowers, and plants, are all harvested at their peak. Think of it as a love letter from the land.
Also worth a wander: Petersham Nurseries. Dreamy in spring and dangerously inspiring if you’ve recently Googled “greenhouse renovation”.
In New York this weekend? Support
at Cultures Club at Rhythm Zero in Greenpoint (April 5–6, 8am–4pm). Enjoy coconut & cardamom cake, cucumber chutney sandwiches, date & dark chocolate cookies, and more. Plus, cookbooks will be available for some serious browsing. Fun. If you can’t make it, you can purchase Third Culture Cooking here.
Are you hungry yet? Good, because it’s time to cook! Recipes and step-by-step visuals below.
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